Era following Blood Omen
History article |image=Timeline 4.png |caption="timeline_4" |introduced= Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) |appearances= Blood Omen Soul Reaver 2 Blood Omen 2 Defiance}} The era following ''Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain'' is considered the time period between the collapse of the Pillars of Nosgoth and Kain's resurrection of the six Sarafan commanders. This time period is visited in both Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance, and is the chronological setting for all of Blood Omen 2. Its events were monumentally altered by the third paradox, which permitted the Hylden Lord to enter Nosgoth's Material Realm. Overview As a result of the Pillars' destruction, the barriers between Nosgoth's Material, Spectral and Demon Realms waned during this period, forcing the Human population to adapt and advance technologically. ~The Demons plaguing Nosgoth are able to rip through from the Demon Realm into the physical world at will. As the spiritual health of the land declines, the barriers between the Realms are weakened, and become more easily permeable.~ Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 manual. (Eidos Interactive). (October 31, 2001) Download. Answers to questions from the Defiance team at the Eidos forums (by Christopher Bruno) Blood Omen 2 Designer Diary #1 at GameSpot (by Steve Ross) The rulership and influence of nobles and monarchs such as King Ottmar appeared to have gradually died out, replaced by tyrannies in the populace's hope for survival. Male Aristocrat 2: "My father says that there was a time when the great noble families ruled the land, with a king over all." // Male Aristocrat 1: "It’s just the same now. The Sarafan Lord –" // Male Aristocrat 2: "But we, the nobles of the land, are not being permitted to have a proper influence upon affairs." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. In latter timelines, it was considered that the "age of the vampires was coming to an end"; despite his status as the only survivor of the Circle of Nine, Kain could not yet create new Vampires to consolidate his power, and it would be several centuries before his reign as Nosgoth's uncontested emperor could begin. Soul Reaver 2: Historical Timeline at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) Raziel: "Your bloodline is erased. The age of the vampires is coming to an end." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript. Vorador: "It serves. But time is short. The Sarafan's power grows by the day. Soon our every haven will be destroyed. We are facing extinction once again." // Kain: "They thought once before they had destroyed us. Yet you proved them wrong. You created a new race, something I could never do, and from that race, I had my army." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Blood Omen 2 Q&A at GameSpot (by Sam Newman) Events Initial known events and information (second timeline) *(~0) The collapse of the Pillars: Embracing his vampirism, Kain refuses the sacrifice and rejoices, establishing a throne at the ruined Pillar of Balance. Raziel: "Beyond these walls lay the Pillars of Nosgoth, the seat of Kain’s empire. How humble it now appeared, collapsing into the dust of its former magnificence. And yet I had only just emerged... In the instant between my execution and resurrection, centuries had apparently passed..." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation. (August 16, 1999) Transcript. Kain: "I knew what ominous hour this was in Nosgoth's history. For here was the event that had shaped my entire existence... I had cast my fate, refusing the sacrifice, damning the Pillars, and founding my doomed empire upon their ruins. I would raise the Sarafan priests to be my closest lieutenants, and would one day cast the strongest of them, my servant Raziel, into the abyss - dealing one last hand to play against Fate. But in the end, had it made any difference? Had I misread the signs, as Moebius told me? In my arrogance, had I missed my cast at destiny?" Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript. *(~500) The raising of the lieutenants: Kain infiltrates the Tomb of the Sarafan, raising the six Sarafan commanders to act as his vampire lieutenants. Elder God: "Yes, Raziel - you were Sarafan... born of the same force that all but destroyed your race. Before the dawn of the Empire, you were chosen. Kain - Nosgoth’s solitary, self-declared monarch - plundered this tomb and raised you from these crypts. Breathing his vampiric gift into your defiled corpses, he resurrected you as his favored sons." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation. (August 16, 1999) Transcript. Third timeline information and alterations *(~0) The collapse of the Pillars: Embracing his vampirism, Kain refuses the sacrifice and rejoices, establishing a throne at the ruined Pillar of Balance. *Demons become more commonplace in the Material Realm. Mutants begin to evolve in the swamp. ~These degenerate creatures evolved in the decades following Kain's fateful decision at the Pillars. They shamble on one deformed limb while attacking with the atrophied claw of another.~ Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 manual. (Eidos Interactive). (October 31, 2001) Download. *The Sarafan Stronghold is assaulted by demons. Vampire hunters evolves into the demon hunters. ~With the vampire threat exterminated, Moebius's mercenary army evolved and turned their attention to the Demons now menacing Nosgoth. These Hunters are more skilled and aggressive than their ancestors.~ Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 manual. (Eidos Interactive). (October 31, 2001) Download. *(~100) Raziel emerges from the [[History preceding Blood Omen|history preceding Blood Omen]], arriving in the Sarafan Stronghold. He discovers a statue commemorating Moebius, holding aloft the severed head of Vorador. Raziel: "If I had any doubts about the era I now occupied, this grotesque tableau certainly eliminated them. For here was Moebius - long since murdered by Kain - lionized and beatified as the martyred leader of his bloodthirsty crusade. And if I required further evidence, I needed only to behold the gruesome trophy Moebius held aloft: the severed head of Vorador, the final triumphant kill of Moebius’s cutthroat mob. His execution marked the annihilation of the vampires. Far from channeling me into Nosgoth’s past, Moebius had propelled me over a century into its ghastly future." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript. ** After discovering Moebius' statue, Raziel encounters an illusion posing as the spirit of Moebius, intended to influence him into destroying Kain. ~As Raziel works his way through the nightmare Stronghold, he encounters the specter of Moebius, who has been dead for a century (killed by Kain).~ Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript. Question and Answer with Jen, Richard, and Kyle at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) ** Raziel encounters Ariel at the Pillars of Nosgoth, who laments Kain's decision and her own fate. Raziel: "As I approached, I discerned the spirit of Ariel – bound here now for more than a century." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript. ** The elder Kain of the [[History preceding Blood Omen|history preceding Blood Omen]], spared by Raziel in this timeline, emerges in the past and pursues Raziel. ~Raziel hears footsteps behind him, and turns to see Kain approaching.~ // Raziel: "Oh, no. Every time you turn up something monumental and terrible happens. I don’t think I have the stomach for it." // Kain: "No drama this time, Raziel." // Kain: "You ''are persistent, crossing time like this to follow me. Still waiting for that coin of yours to land on its edge?"'' Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript. ** After speaking with Ariel, Raziel encounters the elder Kain outside the ruined aerie, who discusses the nature of paradoxes and the malevolent forces subverting their destinies before departing. ** Raziel obtains the Air Reaver from the Air Forge, adjacent to the ruined aerie of Janos Audron's Retreat. Raziel: "As the Reaver drained the forge of its vital energy, the tempest receded... I recovered myself, and paused to admire my newly-forged weapon, now imbued with the elemental power of Air. Thus armed, I hoped that I now finally possessed the means to escape this wasted land." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript. ** Using the time-streaming chamber in the swamp, Raziel time-travels back to Nosgoth's early history. Raziel: "Beyond all hope, and against all probability, it seemed that the device had unerringly delivered me to the era I sought. For these were Sarafan banners - and these vampires, apparently the victims of their crusade. The coincidence seemed too convenient to naively ascribe to Fate - but whether my opportune arrival had been orchestrated by Moebius, or some other influence, I didn’t know. If Janos Audron still lived, I would find him - but I was wary of further deception, and resolved to tread carefully." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript. *(~500) The raising of the lieutenants: Kain infiltrates the Tomb of the Sarafan, raising the six Sarafan commanders to act as his vampire lieutenants. Fourth timeline information and alterations *(~0) The collapse of the Pillars: Kain refuses the sacrifice, establishing a throne at the ruined Pillar of Balance. In Blood Omen 2 (fourth timeline), Kain expresses a belief that "the curse of vampirism is no mark of divinity", contrary to his epiphany at the end of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (second timeline). As such, his motives for refusing the sacrifice may have been altered in this timeline. ** Janos Audron, possessed by the Hylden Lord, destroys Raziel at the Vampire Citadel and departs to opens the Hylden Gate. Raziel materializes within the Spirit Forge, trapped in the Spectral Realm. ** The Elder God resurrects Moebius. ** The elder Kain of the [[Events of Blood Omen|events of Blood Omen]] awakens in the Demon Realm, and battles the native Demons to escape. ** The Purification of Kain: Kain slays Moebius in the Vampire Citadel's Spirit Forge, whose soul is then finally consumed by Raziel in the Spectral Realm. Using Moebius's corpse, Raziel enters the Material Realm and tricks Kain into impaling him on the Reaver blade. Raziel enters the Reaver and uses the Wraith Blade to heal Kain's soul of Nupraptor's corruption, ending the cycle of his destiny. Now cognizant of the Elder God, Kain battles it. The Elder God topples the Spirit Forge in an attempt to destroy Kain, but fails. ** The Hylden Lord enters the Material Realm. Janos is imprisoned in the Device. *Demons become more commonplace in the Material Realm. Mutants begin to evolve in the swamp. *The Sarafan Stronghold is assaulted by demons. Moebius's mercenary army evolves into the demon hunters. *(~100) Raziel emerges from the pre-Blood Omen era, arriving in the Sarafan Stronghold. He discovers a statue commemorating Moebius, holding aloft the severed head of Vorador. ** After discovering Moebius' statue, Raziel encounters an illusion posing as the spirit of Moebius, intended to influence him into destroying Kain. ** Raziel encounters Ariel at the Pillars of Nosgoth, who laments Kain's decision and her own fate. ** The elder Kain of the pre-Blood Omen era, spared by Raziel in this timeline, emerges in the past and pursues Raziel. ** After speaking with Ariel, Raziel encounters the elder Kain outside the ruined aerie, who discusses the nature of paradoxes and the malevolent forces subverting their destinies before departing. ** Raziel obtains the Air Reaver from the Air Forge, adjacent to the ruined aerie of Janos Audron's Retreat. ** Using the time-streaming chamber in the swamp, Raziel time-travels back to Nosgoth's early history. * Vorador's resurrection: Vorador is resurrected by an unknown party. FAQ (Vorador) at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) The Resurrection of Vorador at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) Raziel: "You've been entombed here for five centuries. Your murderers are long dead." // Janos Audron: "Five hundred years? And Vorador--" // Raziel: "--also dead." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript. Vorador: "We were wrong ever to trust you." // Kain: "Do you so wish to return to the grave, old friend? You are in no position to challenge me." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.This event was cut from Legacy of Kain: Defiance, and although it does take place in this timeline, it is uncertain when. It has been tentatively positioned after ~100 based on Kain's Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 narrative assertion that history adheres to "the path of least resistance". Had Vorador's resurrection occurred later than ~100, Raziel could not have encountered his head in the Sarafan Stronghold. *("Decades" prior to ~200) The vampire-Sarafan war: Vorador and the younger Kain create the Vampire Army, bent on conquering Nosgoth. The Hylden Lord forms the Sarafan in response, seizing the city of Meridian. Bloodomen 2 (Story) (archived at Dark Chronicle) Janos Audron: "They were, Kain. But several centuries ago, one of the Hylden was able to return to our world. He then used his magic to draw other Hylden through, but had not yet the power to begin a full invasion. He required an army, here, and humans to drain of energy. He learned of a legendary order whose purpose was to purge the world of vampires long ago. He revived this order, and the Sarafan were born again." // Kain: "The Sarafan Lord. It was he that broke through. But how?" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. * Faustus, Magnus, Marcus and Sebastian are sired by Vorador or his direct descendants. Faustus at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) Magnus at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) Marcus at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) Sebastian at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) *(~200) The Vampire-Sarafan war: The Vampire Army is routed at Meridian. The Hylden Lord defeats Kain, throwing him off a cliff, claiming the Soul Reaver and leaving him for dead. Blood Omen 2: Background Story at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) * Faustus, Marcus and Sebastian join the Sarafan Order. Faustus: "What is our kind? In serving the Sarafan, I have protection, I have power. And who better to hunt down a vampire than a more powerful vampire? History is written by the winners, Kain. That is my kind." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Marcus: "When the Sarafan proved victorious, I knew that my destiny lay with the Sarafan Lord. I offered myself to the winning side." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Kain: "Your master knows his days are numbered. I might have spared your life by asking that you join me, but I learned that lesson two hundred years ago. You arranged the ambush that destroyed my army. You sold yourself to our enemy." // Sebastian: "I dealt the blow that cost you the war. Glorious, was it not? So many killed, so quickly. And all my doing." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. * Vorador forms the Cabal. Kain's body is found by the Cabal and taken to Meridian. Umah: "That you awoke at all is a miracle. When we found you, there was but the barest thread of life left in you. We nurtured it, fed it, and now you rise and walk again." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. *(~400) Kain awakens in the Slums of Meridian. Umah: "Then let me show you the future. You have been asleep for two hundred years. In that time, this is what has become of Nosgoth." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. ** Kain kills Faustus and meets with Vorador. Kain VO: "Vorador! The reformed sado-hedonist of Termagent Forest - I had met him once before in his new role of patriarch. I still knew not to trust him." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. In the Upper City, Kain kills Marcus and rescues Umah. Vorador: "Umah! Alive - and safe. Kain, you have all our thanks." // Kain: "I can follow orders, when it suits me. We met the Sarafan Lord." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. ** Kain infiltrates the Industrial Quarter and obtains the Nexus Stone, killing Sebastian. Vorador: "You are fortunate. One of our vampires saw you thrown from the roof of the factory as it was destroyed. He carried you here. The Sarafan were too occupied to notice you. I see that you have the Nexus Stone." // Kain: "And I see that you were courteous enough not to relieve me of it while I lay unconscious. I met another old friend, a vampire, guarding it. Before I killed him, he told me something…unsettling." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. ** After meeting with the Seer, Kain journeys to the Eternal Prison and slays the Builder and Magnus. ~Kain returns to the Device building after completing the Eternal Prison. Now the blood of the Ancient Being runs through his veins. Once again, he enters the Beast's chamber. The Beast lifts his head, and again, increasing motion on his part causes increasing activity on the part of the machine.~ Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Using the Builder's Blood, Kain destroys the Mass. ~Kain takes a series of lifts up to a platform overhanging the mouth of the creature and cuts his wrist. After shedding only a few drops of blood, the whole chamber begins to tremble violently, and the Mass begins to rupture. Kain flees.~ Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Janos Audron is freed from the Device. Janos Audron: "You do not know me for the poor, oppressed beast that crouched here before? Behold, I am restored." // Kain: "What are you?" // Janos Audron: "Not what, Kain, but who. My visage is unknown to you, but my name is not. Have you heard the story of the oldest vampire?" // Kain VO: "Janos Audron? The legendary vampire of ancient days? How was this transformation possible?" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. ** The Death of the Hylden Lord: Kain kills Umah and infiltrates the Hylden City. Kain and Janos battle the Hylden Lord. Janos is cast into the Demon Realm. Sarafan Lord: "I sentence you to the hell of your own making. A prisoner – for all time!" // ~The Sarafan Lord casts Janos into the Gate.~ // Janos Audron: "Nooooo! Kain….!" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Kain destroys the Hylden Gate and kills the Hylden Lord. Kain VO: "The war was over. And yet there was another still to be fought. The cruel masters of Nosgoth, the Sarafan, now leaderless, still had to be put down. There were cities to be rebuilt, and order be restored. And a new rule, my rule, would then begin. To the victor go the spoils. At last, Nosgoth would be mine." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. *(~500) The raising of the lieutenants: Kain infiltrates the Tomb of the Sarafan, raising the six Sarafan commanders to act as his vampire lieutenants. Progression The post-Blood Omen era is easily the most heavily-reshuffled period witnessed in Nosgoth's history thus far, having undergone massive alterations with the introduction of the third paradox and the Hylden Lord's release from the Demon Realm. My Visit to Crystal Dynamics at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln) Given that Blood Omen 2 is the only game which has explored a version of Kain's history during this period in any detail, it is entirely uncertain how similarly or differently his destiny played out here in previous timelines, without the influence of the Hylden, Vorador and Janos Audron. Vorador's original exclusion suggests that the entire generation of Vampires he sired could not have existed before the paradox which revived him took place - thereby preventing Kain's Vampire Army from being created and coming to power - whereas the Hylden Lord's absence equally implies that the Sarafan Order was never revived and glyph magic never propagated in Nosgoth. Beast: "Wait…You must know…your true enemies. My captors. They are not of this world. They control the Glyph magic by which Meridian is enslaved. They pull the strings of the Sarafan while in the disguise of the Glyph Wrights. They are called... the Hylden... And their leader is, of course -" // Kain: "- The Sarafan Lord." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Blood Omen 2's developers intended for glyph magic to explain the origin of the fantastical technologies witnessed in the Necropolis, the Ruined City and the City of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, but later interviews asserted that both of these games take place in independent timelines. Therefore, the Human machinery and advancements seen in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, which takes place in the second timeline, apparently evolved independently of glyph magic during that iteration of history's post-Blood Omen era. As the Demon Hunters were directly descended from Vampire hunters, which did not exist in the first timeline, it is unlikely they were extant - at least in their Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 portrayal - until Kain altered history and the second timeline began. Defiance: Background Story at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn) Notes *This era is witnessed briefly in both of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain's endings, albeit in very different forms to its later portrayals. The one in which Kain refuses the Sacrifice depicts him upon his throne at the Pillars of Nosgoth - now surrounded by scorched wasteland - under a blood-red, overcast sky, whereas if Kain accepts the Sacrifice, it is depicted as a flourishing landscape filled with life, as before the Corruption of the Pillars. *The second timeline is the only timeline in which this era is never visited or viewed; Raziel creates the third timeline immediately before visiting this time period in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. The only game it has not appeared in is Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. *The post-Blood Omen era supposedly marks the "new aeon" referred to in Aleister Crowley's quote at the beginning of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, in which the "whole planet must be bathed in blood". This is supported in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, where the Hylden Lord proclaims "and thus a new epoch has its beginning" upon his defeat of Raziel. Gallery BO1-DD-KainKong-012.png Annotations References Category:Blood Omen Category:Blood Omen 2 Category:History Category:History/Eras Category:Defiance Category:Soul Reaver 2